ArticleBMC health services research2019
The association between voluntary work and health care use among older adults in Germany.
Article in BMC health services research, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Factors Associated with Dental Service Use Based on the Andersen Model: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Beyond retirement: the influence of work and resilience on successful aging under stress.Psicologia, reflexao e critica : revista semestral do Departamento de Psicologia da UFRGS · 2026Article
- Associations between starting and stopping volunteering and physical activity among older adults - longitudinal evidence from the German Ageing Survey.BMC public health · 2022Article
- Determinants of healthcare use based on the Andersen model: a study protocol for a systematic review of longitudinal studies.BMJ open · 2021Article
- Personality, Healthcare Use and Costs-A Systematic Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Review
- Meaning in life and health care use: findings from a nationally representative study of older adults in Germany.BMC geriatrics · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveWhile most studies focused on the relation between volunteering and health-related outcomes, little attention has been given on the association between volunteering and the use of health care services. Thus, with this analysis we aimed at exploring whether and how the voluntary work of older adults is related to the utilization of health care services in Germany.
methodsThe analysis was based on data from the German Ageing Survey (DEAS), a nationally representative, longitudinal study of the German population aged 40 years and older. Focusing on volunteering, data from the waves 2002, 2008 and 2011 was used. Voluntary work in groups and organizations (yes/no) was used as explanatory variable. To quantify health care utilization, visits to general practitioners and specialists as well as nights in the hospital in the past 12 months were used. Fixed effects regressions were applied to estimate the association between volunteering and the outcome variables.
resultsRegressions revealed that the onset of volunteer involvement was associated with an increase in specialist visits, whereas volunteering did not affect visits to general practitioners and the probability of hospitalization significantly.
conclusionOur findings emphasize the relation between volunteering and specialist visits. Future research is needed to examine the impact of volunteering on health care use, taking more detailed information regarding the specific context of volunteering as well as personality factors and personal background into consideration. This might be reasonable in advancing the knowledge about this association and in developing planned interventions.
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